Book One: Captured Kunoichi
by Kariko
Summary: Itachi desperately wants to make a deal with Temari to get his hands on Shukaku. Rated M for later chapters. Slightly AU, only because I need Gaara's demon for this story.
1. A Little Chat

**Book One: Captured**

**Chapter One:**

**A Little 'Chat'**

Temari woke up in a miserable state. Her eyes felt like they were on fire and had some dirt or grit in them, and her body felt heavy, as though someone had cut her open and stuck stones in her before fixing her back up. She was leaning on a wall . . . the scary part was she had no idea how she got there or _why _she was even here. Slowly, she gathered up some strength to move,and found she was bound to the wall. Letting out a groan, she looked down to find a few chakra strings that were the cause of her immobility.

This was when Temari realized she had company. _Somebody _had to create those strings and stay near her to keep them attached. She looked to her right. Nobody. Hesitantly, she turned her head to the left.

He was one of the most beautiful human beings she had ever seen. She could also tell he was very powerful, for his eyes were unmistakably sharingan. His ebony hair was tied back into a pony tail at the nape of his neck. What scared her was his clothes. Not only was he an Uchiha, he was an Akatsuki member, for he wore the black uniform decorated with red clouds. She said the first thing that came to her mind at the time:

"Where the hell is my fan?!" she blurted out, curious. Immediately, the kunoichi kicked herself for yelling such an unintelligent question. Of all things, why didn't she ask about himself, or what he wanted or even if it was about Gaara, for he was almost captured by another one of their members not too long ago.

The man raised his eyebrowsand tightened the chakra strings before speaking. He hoisted himself up onto one knee and made eye contact with her. Temari wondered if she should close her eyes. His sharingan was pretty intimidating, to say the _very least_. Despite his beauty, his stare would scare away even the bravest ninja.

"Are you aware of who I am?" he asked first.

"I know you are an Uchiha. Nothing more." Temari obediently answeredhis question

"Good. You aren't completely stupid." he said with the slightest hint of amusement in his voice. Temari wanted to glare back, but the poor girl was a sitting duck, and in no position to offend this man. He continued. "My name is Itachi Uchiha. You are here for one reason and one reason only. We still need the demon inside your brother. I'm willing to make a deal with you."

"If it involves my little brother, you can forget it. I'm aware you're only after his demon." Temari snapped out of impulse.

She felt the chakra strings tighten. "I don't think you understand. If you don't agree to this..."

"You'llkill me, right?"

"Oh no. I don't _need_ to kill you. I was perfectly aware that you would reject my offer." he moved closer, causing Temari to squirm.

"Hmph. Then why kidnap me in the first place?"

"Because. I have certain things I can do to get what we want. You are going to stay here until we agree on something. I think you'll find me a . . . very _convincing_ person." he scooted even further and tightened the chakra stings, causing them to pierce her skin. "And the deal isn't as bad as you are making it out to be. If you'd let me explain. . ."

"Never!" Temari barked. "I don't trust you in the slightest! I _know_ if I agree to your 'deal' that Gaara will be harmed in some way! Possibly even killed!"

"Think that way if you wish. But perhaps. . . I can change your mind. Before I force you to live with the Akatsuki until you agree to my deal."

Temari gulped. This couldn't be good. The beautiful stranger had caused her both fear and anger in one night. She wiggled to no avail once she sensed him moving closer once again.

"I have a question for you, Temari." Great. Now the handsome stranger knew her name. He moved closer even more. Finally he stopped when their faces were but inches apart. "Would you like to experience the Mangekyou Sharingan first hand? I'm sure you've heard of it. Now let me show you what happens to people who stand in my way."

Before she knew it, Temari had been sucked into one of Itachi's infamous Genjutsu attacks.

"I'm telling you, she's been missing for _two days_!!" Kankuro yelled at Tsunade, with Gaara at his side. If his glare could kill, the floor of Tsunade's office would no longer exist. The 5th Hokage had a look of guilt on her face, and Sakura and Naruto were standing in the background, the same expressions on their faces. Ever since Gaara had realized who was precious to him, everyone knew immediately that Temari would be his most 'important person'. And in the blink of an eye, she was missing. "You've got to help us! We're your allies!" Kankuro begged

"I know. I promise, I'll send the best Chuunin I can find. I've already sent out many ANBU squads and all of my best Jounin are busy." she drank a little sake before continuing. "Trust me, the Chuunin in Konoha are geniuses." she winked at Naruto and Sakura, who blushed, but smiled back.

Naruto bounded up toGaara and put an arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry. I know what a big deal it is to lose one of your important people, but I'll help you find her!" Naruto thought of Sasuke and knew what kind of pain Gaara must have been going through. Gaara actually smiled, though it was so small only Kankuro and Naruto even noticed.

"Alright. Naruto, Sakura, Gather as many Chuunin as you can find. Kankuro-san, Gaara-sama, I trust you have already searched, yes?"

Kankuro spoke. . .since Gaara wouldn't. "Yes."

"Please try again. If she is still missing please come back here and don't go off looking for her by yourselves. Need I remind you, they are still after you, Gaara-sama."

The Kazekage nodded slightly. And Kankuro and Gaara left before anyone could blink.

"Who should we find, Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade leaned back and took another gulp of her sake. "First off, the three most important you should find are Shikamaru and Neji and Shino. I also recommend Hinata, Kiba, Rock Lee, Ino, and Tenten. That's your best bet for a team. Be careful, though. Going on this mission in a large group could be dangerous. I really don't think you should recruit more than five. Six, at the most. Those are just the ones I think would be good choices for this mission. Pick who you want, find them, and search for Temari."

They both nodded and headed out. "So, Sakura, who should we take?"

Sakura thought for a moment before answering. "Well. . . I think you should go looking for Shikamaru, Neji and Kiba. I'll find Shino and Lee. I think those are the best Chuunin we could take."

"Alrighty! Let's Move! We'll meet at the Ichiraku Ramen shop!" Naruto ran off before Sakura could protest.

The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes. She knew he only wanted to grab a quick bowl of ramen before they left. But it wasn't like she could do anything.

"Hey, Gaara, are you okay?" Kankuro asked with a slight caution in his voice.

They walked for quite a while before Gaara even responded to him. His reaction was very delayed. "Yeah." he mumbled, even though Kankuro knew deep down he didn't mean it at all.

"We'll find her, Gaara. And then she'll come home and we'll be a family again." Kankuro instantly regretted the last statement. He probably should have worded that differently.

But Gaara merely let out a sigh and mumble, "I hope you're right."

Temari blinked and instantly came back to reality. However, it was very bittersweet. Itachi had just finished stabbing her with a sword wherever he pleased for 72 hours, and now that she was back, she could still feel the pain, and she was still bound to the point where she couldn't even hug herself to ease the pain.

Itachi seemed to be enjoying this, even though his voice remained monotone. "Hurts, doesn't it?" He leaned ever closer.

"Damn. . . you. Uchiha." she tried to move her arms once more.

"Just let me tell you what the deal is. I'll stop." Not only were their faces inches apart, he was tightening the strings. Warm blood ran down Temari's arm and she felt her dress ripping slightly. Nonetheless, she didn't want to give in.

"Stop it, Uchiha. Just. . . stop." she exhaled out of exhaustion. Her eyes popped open when she felt the strings tighten once more, ripping the dress even more.

"I've already told you. Just listen to me. Then I will stop." He cupped her chin and lifted her face to meet his.

"No! Why don't you just. . . oh." she realized how much damage the dress had actually suffered. Temari blushed furiously when she realized she had a large amount of cleavage threatening to pop out, and her legs were very close to being fully revealed. Itachi could feel her tensing up, and looked down at the cause of it.

He made eye contact once again. "Nothing I haven't seen. There's no need to worry."

"It doesn't matter!" Temari snapped, "Let me go!" Itachi realized what gave him even more of an advantage when he noticed her face about to glow a bright shade of crimson due to the fact that her dress was splitting, piece by tiny piece. The blonde avoided any type of eye contact, and shut her eyes tightly.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter? You don't want me to rip your precious uniform, do you? That's right. Tell me you don't want me to rip your dress."

That bastard was enjoying this! Despite Temari's anger, she would _not_ have her clothing ripped off like she was some sort of whore! Shaking slightly, she shook her head.

Itachi fastened the strings once more, and smirked when he heard the fabric splitting. "I'm sorry what was that? You'll need to _speak up_." he implied that he wanted her to beg.

"I. . . want you to. . ." Temari couldn't bring herself to continue or say 'stop', even though her dignity _and _virginity most likely were both at stake.

Itachi took advantage of her hesitation. "You _want_ me to rip off your uniform?" the chakra strings were so tight, and the fabric came so close to giving away, Temari couldn't stand it.

"No! Just let me go! I'll. . . hear what you have to say." exhaustion took over Temari's instincts. A mistake that just might prove fatal later. And probably not for her. . .

"Good girl." Itachi knew her words were sincere, thus, did what she asked. The chakra strings were no longer restraining her body, and the first thing he noticed her do was wrap her arms around herself, and he could tell her muscles were really tense. Her head hung low to avoid looking at him and she was crouched over almost to her knees. The helplessness he saw started to surprise him. . .and interest him. He stood up to get a better view of her.

"What. . . what is your deal?" the kunoichi asked, without lifted her head up or even moving.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Itachi crouched down to eye level once again and rubbed the top of her head. "Look at me, Temari."

She shuddered. For some reason, she absolutely _hated_ when he called her by name. It just sounded so. . . _wrong_. Nevertheless, she looked up at his beautiful, crimson eyes. Hesitantly, of course. Even the color scared her.

"Now. . . I just need to use you as bait to lure your brother here. I'll let you go, you'll find him, and we'll ambush you. We'll just extract the demon and you can have him back."

Temari let out a low growl. "You forgot to mention he'll be _dead_ after that."

The Uchiha merely shrugged. "We'll extract it as carefully as we can. We'll do our best not to harm your little brother."

"That's not good enough for me! I'd rather have him Shukaku-possessed than dead!"

"Well. . . maybe I could make it a little more pleasant for your side of the bargain."

"No." Temari interrupted, "In the end, if I agree, Gaara will eventually be in your clutches. I am _not _going to let that happen, no matter _how_ 'pleasant' you make it seem!"

Itachi smacked the wall behind Temari and trapped her there. Temari flinched, and cowered unintentionally. She was about to open her eyes, that is, until she could feel Itachi's breath on her neck. "Then you know the consequences." he said with no emotion.

"What are you. . .?"

"I told you. You will stay here with the Akatsuki until we can agree on something. Now get up and follow me."

Not long after, they ran into Kisame. Temari still had her arms wrapped around her chest. She was quite intimidated by his shark-like appearance, but calmed down slightly once she heard him speak in a gentle voice. He didn't even shoot her a second glance, despite her inappropriate, ripped, and now- revealing clothing. She let out a sigh of relief.

That is until. . .they arrived at another building (which was connected to the building her kidnapper had trapped her in). When they entered in, Temari was mortified! _More men?! _She screamed in her head.

"Looks like you got yourself a cute one, Itachi!" Toby yelled at him

Temari tried to stop the tears, "How could you _do this?!_" she ran out, but when she ran down a random hallway, she came across a dead end and stopped. With a sigh, she turned around to face none other than the Uchiha, again. "Do you absolutely _love_ to make me feel embarrassed? Well, _do you Uchiha?!_"

"They don't care." Itachi stated

"Yeah. That's exactly why they praised you for 'having a cute one'." she used air quotes to make her point.

"Come with me. I'll get you some new clothes." Itachi turned and started walking. Even though she was very upset with him, Temari followed the Uchiha, because she really did need some new clothes.

They entered a small bedroom. The only things in it were a small bed, and a closet, with a small, oak dresser barely noticable in the corner. Itachi pulled the standard Akatsuki uniform. "As long as you live with us, you'll wear what we wear." he threw the uniform at her and stood in the doorway. "I'll be right outside. If you try to escape. . ." he turned around and gave her a threatening glare. "I'll _know._"

Temari gulped before he shut the door. She sat down on the bed and wallowed in her misery for a while. After a few minutes, she decided it was time to dress. She slipped the uniform on, reluctantly, and stepped outside, where Uchiha was waiting.

"It's about time. Now get some rest."

"I can't." Temari protested.

Itachi turned to face her. "And why not?"

"I'm not tired. I've just slept for days on end, and I can't trust you, or those other men."

Itachi realized she had a point. "Fine. I'll be right back. Explore for a while. Just remember what I said about you escaping."

Temari merely nodded. Either the Uchiha trusted her greatly, or he really would know if she would try to leave.

The hallways were covered in mirrors, and Temari looked at herself in the Akatsuki uniform. She would have ripped it off of her body and stomped it into the wooden gorund if her outfit underneath hadn't been torn apart by the Uchiha bastard. The building only had two stories, but there were so many twists and turns. Even the staircases that led to the second floor were spiraled. It was like a labyrinth! And all those mirrors... Temari felt sick.

Finally, she went up a staircase that looked dusty, and hadn't been stepped on for months, maybe years. The difference with this one was that, unlike the others, this one had only led to one hallway, which only housed one door. She opened it cautiously, unaware of what was on the other side. Curiosity had taken over her fear by this time.

The room looked unused. The mirrors on the walls were dusty and cracked. Temari looked behind her to make certain nobody had followed here. That was when she saw the doorknob. There were fingerprints on it, which had to mean somebody was here very recently. They might have even been in this very room! She looked again. They were definitely too large to be hers. Cautiously, Temari looked around and saw a glint in the corner. Probably what must've been the only clean thing in this room.

That's when she realized. . .the glint was her fan! She ran to her precious weapon and held onto it. Screw the Uchiha's empty threats! She was going to get out of here to_night_! Immediately, she strapped the fan to her back and saw a balcony outside a sliding glass door in the distance. There was her way of getting out.

Temari worked her way through cobwebs and pushed the door open. The dust, however, had affected her more than she thought. After 'escaping', Temari had to cough and wheeze until she couldn't feel her lungs or throat. She calculated the distance from the balcony to the woods, with just enough chakra, she could jump to the first tree, and if they tried to ambush her in the forest, she could hide behind the winds and trees.

Before she had a chance to jump off the balcony, and into the trees where she would be a lot safer, a figure jumped in front of her. The Uchiha! But how. . .? His Sharingan glowed with a fury, and Temari was almost tempted to smack him with the iron part of her fan that very moment so she'd at least have a _chance _of running away.

Itachi raised his head and Temari could tell he was holding in anger. "I told you not to run away. Don't you know how foolish it is to make an Uchiha angry? You're in trouble now. . . Temari."

**Gah! I'm so mean! Mind you, it took me _two days_ to write this whole thing. And more will be added. ; D Kiss, Kiss!**


	2. Games and More Games

**Book One: Captured Kunoichi**

**Chapter 2: **

**Games, Games and. . . More Games. **

Itachi moved ever closer, backing Temari up against the wall. "Didn't I tell you? That I would _know?_"

Temari's back was now against the sliding glass door. She held her fan out in front of her, still encased in the iron. She held it out threateningly, hoping Itachi wasn't as strong as he looked.

Before she knew it, both of his hands were on the wall, each arm on either side of her head, trapping her. Slowly, he pulled out a kunai, and pressed it against her cheek. It was so... cold.

"I don't even need to use any of my Genjutsu on you. Think of what kind of damage this could do all by itself. I'm sure the Kazekage would love to see his sibling's face all sliced up. Just imagine the anger and hatred that would bubble up inside of him if he saw that pretty face of yours scarred." he turned it so that the point was barely touching the corner of her eye.

"Don't. . ." she shifted uncomfortably and her fan almost slipped out of her grasp. _Her fan! _That was all she needed. . . "I know something that would be even better than cutting or slicing." her voice suddenly became very alluring.

"And what would that be?" Itachi's curiosity aroused. . . and he loved it! He leaned in closer to hear what the blonde had to say.

"Crushing!" she yelled before ramming the heavy fan into his thigh. The Uchiha leaned over in pain, while Temari pressed her fan into his leg even harder.

Finally, she leapt off the balcony. She did it! She had just escaped the clutches of an Uchiha. Unfortunately, her victory distracted her from her previous plan of jumping onto one of the trees. No matter. She would simply run into the forest and. . .

_Another one?!_

It was the Shark Man she 'met' earlier. She hadn't exactly been introduced. Now he had a tight grip on her arms and her fan had slipped from her grasp. Screaming, wiggling, kicking, no matter what Temari did, his grip didn't loosen in the slightest.

"Let me go!" Temari shouted, even though any other person with the slightest hint of common sense knew shouting something like that would be very pointless.

Once again, she faced the Uchiha, still held by Kisame. "Well, you certainly are a resistant little one, aren't you?" he snarled, "Caught me by surprise." he cupped her chin and jerked her face upwards.

Temari let out a throaty growl. "How does it feel to hold my life in your hands? You must enjoy it very much, Uchiha."

"It's nothing new." Itachi had actually semi-lied. He almost always held somebody else's life in his own hands. But she was different. He wanted to threaten and scare her. Not kill her, no, never kill, just merely let out all that defiant aura she was restraining. He wanted to see her potential.

"I see you two are having a moment." Kisame mocked, letting Temari out of his clutches.

They ignored him. They circled each other, like snarling dogs. . . waiting for the other to attack. Neither of them wanted to give in to the temptation.

"Honestly, Uchiha. Why did you bring me here?"

"We need your brother's demon."

"And what will you do after that?" she asked with the slightest hint of curiosity in her voice. Finally, they both stopped in a protective position.

What they failed to realized was that the other members were watching from afar, very interested in the 'battle'.

"Isn't it obvious? You will be of no use to me, therefore I will dispose of you."

"Then why should I help you?"

"You are already helping me. You just don't realize it." Itachi stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Though, Tenari, being as smart as she was, just couldn't figure out his plan.

Temari snarled at him. "Don't play games with me! How?"

Itachi merely smirked. "Oh, but, Temari, you're so much fun to play games with."

"Don't say my name, you bastard." she hissed at him.

Once again, the 'dogs' started circling each other again, studying one another with a strong, yet hidden interest.

"See what I mean?" Itachi teased, "If you weren't so easy to agitate and confuse, I wouldn't be so hard on you." he stopped circling and moved closer.

"Stop, Uchiha! Don't come near me!" Temari had finally let her fan out, ready to send slicing winds at him any moment.

"What's the matter? I don't bite." The Uchiha lied

Without warning, Temari attacked, sending a deadly series of wind towards him. After it had cleared, he was standing a little to his left, unharmed. But the trees behind him were mutilated and sliced to pieces.

"That's exactly what I mean. Look how easily I can rile you."

Before she knew it, the Uchiha was behind her, right arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the left holding a kunai up to her neck. Temari's fan lay in the grass.

Again.

"Oh That's right, I almost forgot to punish you for earlier."

"Dammit, Itachi!" Temari yelled

The kunai was pressed deeper into her neck. "Oh that won't do at all. You are to call me Uchiha or Itachi-sama."

"No!" Temari refused.

"Alright, how'd you like to make a deal? Either you call me by one of those titles. . . or I'll press this kunai into you until you give in."

Temari seemed to be ignoring him. "Let me go!" The last thing she wanted was to be in the arms of the most notorious Akatsuki member.

"So you want to play this game, too? Very well. . ." he readied the kunai

"Put me down!" Temari screamed. . .

**Somewhere in Suna. . . **

"Goddamn, Temari! Where could you be?!" Kankuro hit a wooden wall with his fist out of frustration.

Gaara had been sulking on a random couch. After many moments, he stood up angrily. "We need to find her." he murmured, threateningly.

"But, Gaara, the Hokage told us to. . ."

Gaara glared at him, and Kankuro shivered when he heard the squeaking of the cork ready to pop out of the gourd and release the sand. "I _said_," he repeated, "We need to _find her_." He spat, walking out.

And his older brother reluctantly followed him. . .

**And Somewhere in Konoha. . .**

Slurp. Slurp. _Slluurrp. "_Ah." Naruto exhaled after what had probably been his second bowl. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Are you done, yet?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head and nonchalantly pulled out another card for a free bowl.

Instantly, a pork flavored ramen was set in front of him.

"They sure do love you." Kiba pointed out, "Probably only 'cause you give 'em a lot of business." he turned away and observed a group of cute girls standing outside the ramen shop.

"I wonder where Sakura is." Shikamaru mumbled. "That girl's late. What a drag. Why do we even have to go on this mission. You never even mentioned what we were doing."

Naruto took one last gulp and explained. "We have to rescue somebody from Suna. Gaara's sister I think."

Not such a drag, after all, now _is _it?

"Oh." Shikamaru pretended to look at the same girls Kiba was, but truthfully, he didn't give a fig about any of them. The tension was building up inside of him as he wondered where Temari would be.

Well, you know what they say. Opposites attract, right?

"Here she comes, now!" Naruto shouted as he saw Sakura heading towards them. "Geeze, finally." he noticed Shino traveling with her instead of Hinata.

"Sakura-chan, where's Hinata?" Naruto asked, curious.

Surprisingly, Shino spoke up. "She's very ill. And her Byakugan isn't working right. Tsunade-sama suggested she stay in bed until she feels better. That's why Neji's not here, either."

"And _I _didn't know about this?!" Kiba snarled

Uh-oh.

"You were training somewhere in the woods." Shino stated calmly.

"Well, forget _this! _I'm going to see Hinata!" Kiba ran off, leaving the other five Shinobi behind.

"Darn it, there goes another useful one." Sakura mumbled under her breath. She was really hoping they would have Kiba and Akamaru there to sniff out Temari's trail, and Neji or Hinata to scan certain areas. Oh well. She sighed and looked up at all the boys.

"All right, Neji and Kiba have walked out on us, but we'll make do with the teammates we've got." Sakura kicked herself. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to say, but oh well.

"A_hem._ I _think_ you're forgetting somebody." Everybody heard the snobby voice behind them that belonged to none other than Ino Yamanaka. "I told you I wouldn't lose to you Sakura." Ino gave a quick wink. "I'm coming on this mission with you. I've been training with Asuma, and I want to try out some of my new moves."

Sakura's eyes lit up. Ino wasn't doing this to show off. She really wanted to help her. "Alright." she agreed.

"Should we split up, Sakura-chan?" Lee asked

"Definitely." It wasn't Sakura's original plan, but now that the most important ones had left, it didn't matter. "We need to cover as much ground as possible."

**Bet you're wondering what the Wind Mistress and notorious Uchiha are up to, huh?**

Temari lay on the ground, the tiniest scratch barely visible on her neck. _Damn Uchiha. . ._ she cursed in her head. She didn't even give into his game. He dropped her to get a hold of himself.

"She's a pesky one, Itachi. Perhaps cutting off just one arm would help. . ." Kisame butt in, gripping his sword firmly.

"That's all right, Kisame. I have a funny feeling she won't try it again. I just need a moment alone." Itachi replied.

Kisame silently obeyed, leading the other members away from the scene. _That's not wise to ask us to leave, Itachi. Don't do anything you'll regret._

"How. . . How am I helping you?!" Temari desperately wanted to know.

"You'll know the answer soon enough." Itachi grabbed the collar of her uniform and jerked her forward. "So. . . you thought you could escape. Didn't I warn you?"

No answer.

"I asked you a question, _Temari._" he practically spat her name, knowing she hated it. "I told you I would know, didn't I?"

Still no answer.

"_Didn't I?"_ the blonde was jerked towards her captor even more.

"Yes." Temari mumbled. She almost screamed it, but knew that's would be exactly what he wanted. Why give the bastard Uchiha something he wanted?

"Look at you, still trying to resist me. And here I thought I had already broken you in. What do I need to do to show you who's more powerful?"

"Get off me. . ._Itachi._" Temari mocked. If the Uchiha wanted to play another game, she'd gladly join in.

"I see. As much as I'd like to see your potential, giving in would be childish." Itachi found the will to stand up off of Temari, surprisingly. And afterwards. . . he merely walked away, making sure Temari was close to him.

_What the hell was that all about?! _Temari shouted in her head.

**Okay, so this chapter was a _bit_ shorter than the last. I didn't really want to add anything onto this one, so I just cut it off where it is right now. Hope you enjoyed! Kiss, Kiss!**


	3. Fright

1**Book One: Captured Kunoichi**

**Chapter 3:**

**Fright**

**Whoot! Check out this Chapter, for we get to take a quick? peak at Temari's past. : 3**

Itachi had been acting quite weird, Temari decided. Almost every day, he would try to make a deal with her. She never agreed to anything, which, to put it quite frankly, pissed him off. Itachi never really hit her, but she had some noticeable bruiseson her wrists because he would squeeze the joints and they would glare at each other for quite some time.

One night though. . . the Uchiha had come in trying a different approach. The tension became very palpable once he entered the room. Temari stood up, but just as quickly backed away.

"Temari." she heard Itachi say in a very low voice. He sounded like he was talking to a child who had just misbehaved. He moved closer. "Let me ask you a question. Mind you it's somewhat personal."

Temari scoffed at him. Did he really expect her to answer a 'personal' question for _him_? There was definitely something wrong with the Uchiha.

It all happened so fast. Temari felt herself backed up against the wall, Itachi standing over her. "Now tell me, what is it you fear most?"

This sent Temari into deep thought. What was she afraid of? Oh, she clearly knew the answer to that. . . but the Uchiha was never to find out.

"I'll never tell you." he said under her breath, avoiding all eye contact.

"So. . . there _is_ something you're afraid of." Shit. She could feel his smirk. Well, she had to give the Uchiha some credit, he had already gotten her to blab about something and it had been, what? Five seconds?

"I won't tell. You're. . . you're not allowed to know!" Temari felt like she was a toddler trying to lie to their parent. She even put her hands to her ears. She heard it again. . . that voice! That _monster's_ voice!

"Oh, I'm not, am I? And what makes you so sure I won't figure it out." Itachi spoke, but noticed she clearly wasn't listening. Her body was shaking, and her hands were on her ears. Yes. She was definitely thinking about the thing that scared her most. This was starting to become a problem. If she was thinking about it, then she'd be sitting here in this position all night and he'd never know.

On the other hand. . . it was quite fun to watch her break down. Soon, Itachi noticed tears leaking from her eyes. Muffled sobs could be heard and every once in a while, she hiccupped. "He'd never let it out now. . . he would _never_ let it out now!"

Itachi pondered. Who'd never let _what _out? Then it hit him. He was certain it had something to do with Gaara. Itachi spoke in a comforting voice. "Who would never let what out, Temari?"

Temari didn't answer him, but spoke to herself as though he weren't there. "No, Gaara. Please. . . stop. . ."

Now it was obvious. . . Temari still feared Shukaku. Wonderful. "Tell me what Gaara did." Itachi requested.

"I-I've never seen him like this. Stop it!" The Uchiha loved watching Temari break down. It was pretty new to him, seeing as how she always stood her ground when he came in.

Itachi could feel her breathing on his collarbone. It was very unsteady. Still, he moved ever closer. "What is it. What is Gaara doing? Tell me."

Temari shook her head, seemingly oblivious to the information she had just leaked to him. Itachi was getting tired of this, for he wanted to know the story _now_. Firmly, he gripped her wrists and pulled them away from her ears. "Is it Shukaku?"

Finally, without answering his question, Temari opened her eyes, but did not make eye contact. She stared at the Uchiha's feet. The tears had stopped, but the trembling had not. "He wouldn't stop." was all Temari said.

"What was he doing?" Itachi asked, trying not to sound forceful.

"We. . . we were on a B-Rank mission. Gaara was around nine. Kankuro, eleven, and I had just turned thirteen. The enemy, the masked marauder was stronger than we had thought and Kankuro and I didn't stand a chance. I could see Gaara smirking, and his body started to shake. The marauder realized who he was up against and panicked. . . Gaara licked his lips when he saw the fear in the enemy's eyes. The sand. . . the sand slowly started to seep out of his gourd like snakes. Next thing I knew, he and the Marauder were battling while Kankuro and I watched from the sidelines." Temari stopped speaking.

The Uchiha's grip on her wrists had loosened quite a bit. "Yes, go on. What happened to Gaara?"

"He. . . he didn't get hurt at all but. . . Kankuro and I knew what was happening. His body started to shape shift and the next thing I knew. . . half of his face didn't belong to him. He had allowed Shukaku to possess the right side of his body. After that he. . ."

Temari paused for a moment. Though she probably would have stopped talking if Itachi hadn't urged her to finish the story.

"The marauder was easily defeated. I saw Gaara. . . covered in blood. But that blood wasn't his. Kankuro was staring at the tree and I was looking at Gaara in fear. Like he wasn't my little brother anymore. So. . . he smirked at me and said 'What's the matter, Temari? You don't like me this way?'. And then. . .no!" Her eyes closed once more.

"Go on, Temari. What happened?"

Itachi heard a loud sniff before she continued. "He made me hug him. And the next thing I knew, his possessed arm grabbed _my _arm! I fell on my knees and I could feel sand all over me. Especially. . . on my neck. I could _feel_ Shukaku's claws there just. . . fingering my neck." Temari continued, her voice gradually adding disgust to the fear. "And he told me, 'This is how I am, Temari. I'm a monster.' And I couldn't look at him. I asked Gaara to stop, so he pushed me off the tree. I was lucky enough to land on my feet in another one, but he jumped down and we made eye contact. He had a twisted smirk on his face and Shukaku's arm reached out to touch me. I don't know. . . what he would have done, but Baki showed up and managed to calm him down."

"Is that all?" Itachi asked

"He was like that during the Chuunin exams, too. But he pushed me away and went after. . ." she looked up at Itachi's face, realizing what an awkward moment she had just created. "He went after somebody else, instead."

Luckily, she noticed that the Uchiha didn't care about who Gaara went after. She looked down to his feet once again and realized:

_She had just told the man she hated most what she feared more than anything_.

She heard it; Itachi's mocking voice caught her attention. "Oh, Temari."

Reluctantly, she looked up. "What." her voice was frigid again as she made eye contact.

"Tonight. . . you lose."

Temari saw the unmistakable Mangekyou Sharingan.

**The Konoha Gang**

"Ew, EW!!! Get it off me!" Ino yelled swatting a few beetles on her arm. "Shino, can't you keep those things to yourself?"

"They won't hurt you." Shino stated

Ino shook her head a bit. "Still, I would feel a lot better if you didn't plant bugs on me." she shuddered, "I can't _stand _that tickley feeling." She walked ahead of him for a bit.

Shino caught up and put an arm in front of her. "Don't move." he said, "We're about to be ambushed."

Ino shrieked inside. Who could possibly ambush them out here?

**Gaara and Kankuro**

Before Gaara and Kankuro had even left the village, a Konoha jounin had stopped them, and convinced Gaara to return to his office. Apparently, Tsunade sent her to keep watch over him to make sure he do anything rash.

"Um... hey little bro, you want some tea?" Kankuro offered.

Gaara didn't respond. Kankuro took his deadly silence as a 'No'.

Kankuro looked over at the Konoha girl. "So. . . you're a jounin? You a little, well. . . little." he pointed out her height. She couldn't have even reach 5"3'.

Her face turned bright red, but not from embarrassment. "It's a family curse! Just like these stupid eyes!" she pointed at her eyes, which were a bright pink.

Gaara looked out the window. If this girl didn't leave soon he could probably just kill her. She was a nuisance anyway. All he wanted to do was find Temari. Was that too much to ask?

"Gaara-sama, the village is being attacked!" he heard Konoha's jounin yell.

"What?" he ran outside to find a strange blonde man attacking Suna.

**Temari and Itachi **

The Uchiha was right: Temari had lost. So this was why he asked her what she feared most. And as long as he had the knowledge, he was free to taunt her with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Temari felt shorter. She looked down to find that she was thirteen again.

Uh oh. Gaara had defeated the marauder and he was making his way toward Temari and Kankuro, half of his body possessed by Shukaku. Temari's face twisted in disgust unintentionally, while Kankuro turned his head toward the tree trunk. As soon as Gaara saw Temari's face, he smirked, drool pouring from his mouth.

"What's the matter, Temari? Don't like what you see?" he mocked, letting out a chuckle. The Shukaku arm reached up to grab her, but Temari backed away. "Aw, Temari, your little brother just wants a hug. Don't you want to give me a hug?" he taunted

Temari felt herself shaking uncontrollably. Before she knew it, Gaara's possessed arm pulled her down to her knees and her head was pressed against his chest. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"G-Gaara. Please. . . Please stop." This was it. When Shukaku's claws were running across her neck. The sand crawled up her thirteen year old body.

"Temari!" she heard Kankuro scream as he reached out to assist her.

Gaara pointed his human finger at Kankuro. "Don't you dare try to help her! I'll kill you!" Kankuro was hesitant, but he backed off, giving Temari a desperate look.

Temari winced as she felt drool on the top of her head. It was coming. . .

"This is how I am Temari." there it was, "I'm a monster."

Temari couldn't take it anymore. "Oh, God, Gaara, just stop, please!" she yelled at him, immediately fearing her consequence.

"How dare you order me around!" Gaara's Shukaku arm pushed her off the thick branch, but luckily, Temari reacted in time, using her chakra to cling to another tree branch. She looked up to see Gaara, who had now pinned eleven-year-old Kankuro up against the tree with his Shukaku arm. Tears rolled down her face as she watched him struggle for breath.

"Put him down!" Temari ordered. She slapped her hands to her mouth, but it was too late. Gaara had already jumped from his branch, and was now face-to-face with Temari, thanks to his Shukaku tail.

"I'm sorry, what was that? Did you just tell me what to do?" Gaara wasn't smirking anymore. He was merely pissed off.

Temari noticed a figure behind Gaara. The smirking Uchiha bastard. He was enjoying this!

No matter. Baki would come any second and calm Gaara, who would then walk away like nothing happened. But there was just one problem with this:

Baki wasn't showing up. And Gaara had now had her ensnared within his possessed hand. She was trapped against the tree by her neck. "Aren't you going to answer me, Temari? Did you just tell _me _what to do?"

"Unnh. . ." Temari couldn't answer, but she shook her head.

"Oh I think you did. Now tell me. . ." his grip grew more painful as he squeezed harder, "Did you really think I would listen to you? Just because you're older? I'm afraid that's not the way it works."

_Gaara, you're not a monster! _Temari thought. But somehow, her voice couldn't say it, and not because Gaara was seconds away from choking her.

"Why don't you look up, Temari? Why don't you take a nice, long look."

Kankuro was dead. His throat had obviously suffered a Sand Coffin attack. His body was collapsed on the tree trunk and Temari sobbed when she saw his dilated pupils.

She couldn't take this anymore. She screamed. Temari's throat hurt with intense pain, but she didn't care. Kankuro was dead.

She blinked hard, and suddenly she was back in the normal world. It had been, yes, a second. She glared at Itachi. "You bastard!" she threw a punch at him, but he easily dodged it and had her pinned to the ground.

"Did you enjoy that? Living out your worst fear once again?" he was mocking her again. Temari flailed so much it hurt.

"Shut up! I'll kill you!" she screamed at him.

"Ah, yes, I know somebody else who says that whenever he sees me. The two of you have quite a lot in common."

"Please. . . let me go." Temari begged.

"Are you willing to make a deal with me?" Itachi asked

"Never!"

"Then I can't get off of you just yet. In fact, I could stay like this all night. What's say we keep each other company?" his voice teased her to no end and she was getting sick of it.

"I said get off! Now move your ass or I'll kill you!" Temari wiggled under his foot in vain.

"If you did get the chance to kill me, would you take advantage of it?"

What? This certainly was a random, and quite obvious question for the Uchiha to ask her. "Of course I would!"

"Hmm, you're sure you wouldn't hesitate at all? You would just take my life away, just like that?" Itachi's voice was quite sincere.

"I hate repeating myself." was all Temari said.

"Then go ahead." Itachi removed himself from Temari, allowing her to jump up and tackle him to the ground. Her body was now on top of his and her hands were around his throat but they weren't squeezing as hard as she would have liked.

"Just as I thought." Itachi smirked at her. "You're doing it all wrong, by the way."

Temari blushed furiously. Doing _what_ all wrong? She was very confused. That is, until Itachi had turned the tables by easily flipping her over onto _her_ and putting himself in the exact same position she was in with one difference. His elbows her painfully pressing onto her forearms. "You gave me full access to my hands. Who knows what I could have done."

"Alright, Uchiha. What _are _you going to do?" Temari's voice came out a lot more alluring then she had expected it to, but she kind of like the way it sounded.

"Well, I wasn't going to do anything at first. But. . ." he smirked once more and his elbows loosened up, as well as his grip on her neck. Quickly, his hands were gripping her wrists once more and his knees were pressed onto hers. "Temari. . ."

Temari realized what was going on and quickly came to her senses. "Get off me!" she yelled at him.

Itachi's head quickly turned towards the door, and in a heartbeat, he was no longer on top of her. But it wasn't because she yelled at him (or because he wanted to for that matter). Kisame walked into the room.

"Itachi. You've been in here for hours. Give up on her, she's too stubborn." After that he simply walked away.

Before Itachi walked out Temari could have sworn she heard a 'I'm not even close to being through with you.' before he left.

And Temari concluded, that _now_ was the time to worry a little bit.


	4. Memory Loss

1**Book One: Captured Kunoichi**

**Chapter 4:**

**Memory Loss**

**So, like. . . what happens in this chapter is very self-explanatory, no?** **Unless you're a moron who accidentally stumbled across and 'M' rated story and managed to read all the way to chapter 4. But I highly doubt that. All of my readers seems pretty intelligent. ; 3**

**And now I give you. . . CHAPTER 4!!**

Itachi didn't stop coming into her room and he even made her follow him around almost 24/7. In fact, he seemed to be hanging around more than usual. Fortunately he hadn't tried his Mangekyou Sharingan on her since that night.

Temari went into thought. Ever since he had kidnaped her, all he did was try to make agreements with her. When was he going to realize that Gaara would be here any day now to. . .

Whoa! Hold the phone! If she was here, then Gaara would obviously come looking for her. And if he happened to find her he wouldn't stand a chance against any of the Akatsuki members! So that must mean. . .

"I'm just the bait." Temari whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Itachi turned towards her, even though she guessed he had already heard what she had said.

"I'm just the goddamn bait! How could you do this! You're all bastards!"

Itachi clapped, even though he didn't seem to be the least bit surprised that she had figured it out by now. "Very good, Temari. You've figured out our dastardly plan. Now what are you going to do?"

"What I _should_ have done a long time ago!" Temari reached for her fan, which she was now allowed to carry. Unfortunately, the Uchiha was too quick for her and she was pinned against the wall. She saw the their reflections in the mirrors. He held her body up by the neck.

"Oh, look, we have a stubborn little child. If you'd like to take another 72 hour trip to my world, I'd gladly oblige." he threatened

"I'm not playing another one of your ridiculous games, Uchiha." Temari snarled, attempting, and pretty much failing, to stand her ground.

"Oh, you're already playing. You've just been losing." His face was unpleasantly close to hers, but the Mangekyou wasn't showing itself, so she glared right back.

"I don't think you've been trying hard enough." Itachi stated "You're starting to bore me, Temari. You don't really fight back."

Temari didn't answer. She heard footsteps down the hall coming towards them and the Uchiha did not loosen his grip on her throat. She struggled a bit but he inwardly refused to put her down. Even after the footsteps arrived, she didn't stop struggling. Once again, it was his annoying shark partner, Kisame.

"They've found the inhabitant of the six-tailed demon." he stated with a smirk, handing Itachi a scroll.

Finally, the Uchiha dropped Temari and she watched curiously as he read. Purposely, he kept it held high, so her wandering eyes could not read as well.

"Let me see it." Temari demanded

Itachi looked down at her. "Why? It's of no importance to you. You have nothing to gain by reading it."

Temari felt her face reddening from anger. "Just let me read it!"

Itachi smirked. "Curiosity killed the cat."

Temari sighed. Yashamaru used to tell her that all the time. "But satisfaction brought him back." she retorted

"The only thing you need to know is that we're making a little trip to the village Hidden in the Clouds, and you get to tag along. Won't that be fun?." he mocked

"No! I want out of here right now! I've been here long enough!" she yelled, trying to walk past him. He merely blocked her way. "Move it, Uchiha!"

"You're going to keep us company, whether you like it, or not." he glared, his voice suddenly turning extremely malicious.

He grabbed her frail wrists, pushing his thumb on her palms to bend both of them back in a painful position. Temari felt herself being pushed up against the wall. Itachi moved close to her ear. "Make a decision, Temari." he purred.

Ew. His breath was so. . . warm. It didn't smell terrible or anything, but there was just something about it that made her twitch. Something untrustworthy. Without warning, Temari went limp and her body pushed slightly up against his. Kisame smirked inwardly as he noticed Itachi's eyes widening. He wondered if his Akatsuki partner ever even had a girlfriend; it seemed like Temari knew exactly what buttons to push.

"Alright, Uchiha. I'll go. But . . . you'll have to let go of me." she whispered in his ear.

Itachi felt the compelling urge to reply a simple 'no', but Kisame was there. Which, unfortunately, meant that he had to forfeit before things went too far.

Slowly, his grip loosened and his hands dropped to his side. Temari backed away, picking up her fan and quickly shooting the Uchiha a look of pure lust. Kisame didn't see it, and Temari didn't realize she had done it, either. In fact, if Itachi himself had blinked, he would have missed it.

Temari was quite reluctant to go with Itachi and Kisame. During the trip she found out that the inhabitant of the six-tailed demon was a girl with an abnormal complex. Her skin was way too dark for her hair to be blonde and her eyes to be blue, but because the six-tailed beast was inside of her, she had those features. Plus, the inhabitant was no older than ten, no younger than seven.

She knew what would happen if they kidnaped her. It was a certain death. But for some strange reason, Temari had agreed.

It wasn't long before they reached the village. Itachi and Kisame were to explore, while Temari waited on the outskirts. Basically, she was useless here, and wondered why the Uchiha wanted her to tag along. Another game, perhaps?

Now, she was all alone. Seemingly, now was her chance to escape, but she didn't want to face the wrath of the Uchiha. Once again, he warned her that he would still know. Not to mention he threathened he had a very powerful being stalking her brother, and if she tried anything funny, Gaara and Kankuro would be killed.

'Maybe he's bluffing.' she thought, 'Maybe I should just head back right now.'

Suddenly, she heard an angry sob up in a tree. She looked up into the branches. It was the girl they were looking for! Temari shouted up at her.

"Hey, you! Come on down. I gotta tell you something!"

The girl jumped down. She was at least a foot and a half shorter than Temari. Her eyes were extremely red and puffy. "What's wrong?" Temari asked

"The village elders think I'm the one who caused the last thunderstorm! I did no such thing, I have better things to do!" she shouted

"You sure are pretty open, considering I'm a stranger."

The girl looked up. "Well, you _did _ask me what was wrong. I just answered your question." she suddenly jumped into the branch above Temari's head. "Now what did you want to tell _me_?"

Temari looked around for the Akatsuki members and spoke in a hushed tone. "You have two very bad men after you. They're after the demon inside of you, and if they get a hold of it, you die."

Her eyes widened. "I've heard of them! My grandpa said I would be a target. . . I just didn't think it would be so soon!"

"You've got to get out of here! Now!"

The girl hesitated. "Go, _run!_" Temari yelled. The girl dashed off into the forest.

"How cute, Temari. You're trying to be the hero."

Temari whirled around to find the Uchiha and the Shark Man. This was so not good news for her. 'Does this guy read minds, or something?' she thought desperately.

Itachi turned to his partner. "Kisame, go after the six-tailed inhabitant." he suddenly looked down on Temari. "I'll take care of _you_." his voice deadly.

Kisame was gone. And Temari was stuck with the Uchiha bastard. A very _mad _Uchiha bastard. "So. . . you thought I wouldn't know." Temari was pushed up against the tree. Her body wriggled, and flailed. "You still think you can beat me. You just don't get it." his left hand held her arms behind her back, while his right arm squeezed her neck. "You're a poor excuse for a shinobi. Why would you let her go like that?"

"Because. . ." Temari answered. "She doesn't deserve to die just because she was chosen to harbor a demon. Why do you even want it, anyway?"

Itachi's glare softened, but not by much. "I won't answer that. But I will say this: Sometimes for one person to live, another's life must be taken."

Temari raised an eyebrow. "That makes no sense." she said

"That's not the point." Itachi snapped

The Uchiha stepped closer and Temari's legs wriggled again, causing them to become entwined with his. This is so not the position she wanted to be in, but she didn't dare move again. Her left leg wrapped around _his_ left and her right leg had moved itself in between his legs, her knee pushed up against his thigh.

Hoping the Uchiha didn't notice, Temari slowly slid her legs down and backed up against the tree once again.

Itachi mocked her. "Was that position too much for you?" Shit, he had noticed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Temari lied, a crimson colored blushed revealing itself on her face.

"Oh really? Because it was kind of like. . ._this_." He wrapped his left leg around her calf, and his knee on the other leg pushed up against her thigh. Nonetheless, Temari stood still. If she moved, who knows how worse she'd make things.

Temari rested her head on the tree and closed her eyes. "Stop it." she requested.

The Uchiha moved closer. "What was that?" he asked, pushing his knee up slightly.

"Please, stop!" she yelled

Surprisingly, the Uchiha lowered his legs and backed off. Temari's eyes opened. Her face was very passive and calm. Finally, Itachi did something that absolutely baffled her. He let go of her! Usually he did it very roughly, sometimes causing her to bruise; but this time his grip slowly loosened in a gentle way.

She looked up at him and watched him back away. Suddenly, her breathing sped up, and her heart pounded twice as fast before she decided to dash away.

While taken by slight surprise, he, being an S class criminal, he was _way_ too fast for her. "I still can't believe you're trying to run away." Without thinking, he grabbed her by the collar and threw her up against another tree.

Before she could react, Itachi had her by the collar again, tossing her up into the air. With a burst of chakra, he leapt to her level, snatching her and flung her towards the ground. Finally, Temari pulled out her fan.

Itachi searched for the kunoichi. She was supposed to be in a crater by now. Looking up, he saw her flying above him on her fan. Within seconds, she was now on a tree, prepared to use her weapon.

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" she shouted before she sent a series of deadly winds at the Uchiha. It was too late before she realized it was a clone. Reluctantly, she turned, only to receive a smack from Itachi that caused her to fall from the tree.

Damn, that hurt! She smashed into a tree, the back of her head throbbing like hell. Almost immediately, she lost consciousness.

They had completed their mission. Kisame had easily caught the little ten-year-old despite the fact that she could move pretty fast for her age. The point was, they now had the six-tailed-demon.

Even more satisfying, Itachi had, to put it quite frankly, beat Temari to a bloody pulp. She was stuck in bed until she woke up. Then he could gloat, and smirk all he wanted about his victory.

Life was just peachy.

Itachi heard a slight grumble. He looked over at Temari to find that she was already stirring, despite the fact that she had taken a pretty hard blow to the head.

Slowly, but surely, she sat up, rubbing the back of her head. Itachi sensed something wrong when he heard her gasp, and her eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. Frantically, she looked around the room and her breathing was extremely unstable. She sounded like she was hyperventilating.

"I. . . don't remember a thing. . ." she sobbed as she turned toward Itachi. "Hey. Who am I?" she asked.

The Uchiha walked over to Temari. He towered over her, trying to hide his smirk. Oh yes. . . life was _definitely _peachy keen at the moment. "Your name is Temari Uchiha." he said kneeling to her level.

She raised an eyebrow, suspicious of him. "And who might you be?"

Itachi let out a sigh. "My name is Itachi Uchiha." he paused for a moment and made sure they were making eye contact. "I am your husband."

**Am I cruel for ending here? Of course! But I'm pretty sure this will ensure that you will read the next chapter, no? Stay tuned for Chapter 5! Kiss, Kiss! ;-D**


	5. Letting Her Escape

**Book One: Captured Kunoichi**

**Chapter 5:  
****Letting her Escape**

**With much mental debate, I decided to cut out the lemon entirely. Yes, there was a lemon in this chapter, but I took it down a bit because of fanfiction rules. The only reason it is here is because it becomes important to the plot later. But have no fear. It's posted on another site.**

"Who. . .?" Temari was confused. Especially since she couldn't remember a thing. Only a throbbing pain in the back of her head, along with a huge goose bump that ached whenever she poked it.

"So you don't recognize me." Itachi's head turned and he put on a hurt expression.

"But I can't be married! I don't remember my wedding day!" Temari backed against the head of the bed. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" she interrogated

Itachi moved forward. Too close for comfort. . . "I would never lie to you." (Yeah, right) "You fell out of a tree. Hit your head on a rock, and that's why you don't remember anything."

"How old am I?" Temari asked, still untrusting.

"You're only twenty. We haven't been married that long." Itachi stated

Temari looked around the room, down at her clothes, then back at Itachi. While his crimson eyes were intimidating, she had to admit, he was pretty handsome. She wasn't having that hard of a time believing that, perhaps, she _was _his wife. Not that she remembered.

So this was it? Did she have to B.S. her way through life knowing nothing, so all she had to do was believe those around her, no matter how untrustworthy they seem?

Yeah, that's about how to put it, hun.

So she did the first thing that came to her mind. Temari sat up and hugged the Uchiha. Or, as some would put it, her 'husband'. He stood up and scooped her up. Their faces were inches away, but neither one was moving in toward a kiss.

"Does this mean you believe me?" Itachi did his best not to smirk when Temari slowly nodded her head. Looking down, she realized where she was and felt the redness creep up her neck.

"U-um. . . will you put me down, Itachi?" she requested

Reluctantly, she was set on her feet. This time, she actually had a better view of him. Wow, he was tall. His eyes seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The intimidating crimson along with the little pinwheels reminded her of. . . What was that word?

"Sharingan. . . Mangekyou Sharingan." Temari mumbled under her breath. That was the one thing she remembered. Not that she knew what it was or what it did. But somehow it affected her.

"What?" Itachi asked. Oh crap, if her memory was coming back already, who knows what kind of trouble he'd be in. Then again, Temari was in a feeble state and couldn't afford to fight him.

"I need to know what it is." Temari requested. "Please tell me, Itachi. What is the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Her teal eyes locked with his crimson and she waited patiently for his reply.

Itachi sighed and made his decision on what to tell her. She didn't need to know the trust just yet. "I. . . have no idea. You must be thinking of something else."

Temari scanned at his impassive expression. It was hard to tell whether or not he was telling the truth. But since his face didn't move in the slightest and he didn't hesitate to answer, so she went with her instincts.

Without noticing, Temari reached her hand up to her head once more to grope the giant goosebump that resided back there. She felt something else back there, as well. Something dry, and crusty. It didn't take long for her to figure out that it was blood. Not that it was surprising; she probably hadn't bathed for a day or two.

The blonde looked up at Itachi with a slightly embarrassed look. "Can I, um. . . take a bath?" she asked sheepishly.

The Uchiha said nothing, but led her out of the room and through the building. There _was _something vaguely familiar about it. Everywhere she turned, she saw her reflection in the mirrors hung on the walls. Not to mention the labyrinth like design, and the spiral staircases.

Temari noticed Itachi's strange walk. He had his back straight with his eyes up, but his head slightly hung. His foot also made a distinct and eerie 'click' every time he stepped.

"Here we are." Itachi's monotone voice spoke once they arrived.

It was a large bathroom, and the bathtub was no exception. It was smaller than a pool, but slightly larger than a hottub, and it curved into the ground. There were a lot of soaps and bath salts.

"Want me to keep you company?" Itachi hadn't said this in a perverted way, but Temari couldn't help but blush.

"No! I mean. . . no thank you. But, will you stay outside the door?" she looked up at him.

The Uchiha merely nodded. Even though she had lost her memory and rough personality, she made up for it by being just so. . . just so fucking adorable!

Before he walked out, he watched her timidly unbutton the uniform, revealing nothing but a white sleeveless shirt and her fishnet stockings, one of the few things he _hadn't_ ripped when he first intimidated her.

Teal eyes locked with his before Temari had done anything else. "You can leave now." she simply stated.

Reluctantly, the Uchiha closed the bathroom door behind him. He stood but inches from the door, his imagination unsatisfied. What could she be doing in there. . .

Temari let the warm water fill the tub before removing any other clothing. She opened one of the bath salts and inhaled. She couldn't think of what it was, but the scent was quite sweet. Cautiously, she turned her head toward the door before pulling off her stockings.

With all of her clothes gathered into a neat pile, the kunoichi let her bare body slip into the warm water. It felt nice.

Without hesitation, she held her breath and let herself sink to the bottom. Instantly she reached her hand to the back of her head and ran her fingers through her hair for a while. Thank goodness! No more blood.

Temari sat at the edge for a while inhaling the smell of the bath salts she hadn't closed yet. It was so relaxing. Like it was her first time away from 'it all' in days. It wasn't until she started to dose off that she figured it was time to get out.

The blonde wrapped the towel Itachi had left her around her body. She felt so much better now that she was clean. Temari let her body rest against the bathroom wall, letting out a sigh. It felt so much like home. Maybe, just maybe. . . she really did live here? She felt so at ease.

Quickly, she glanced up at the door when she heard a 'click'. There was no way in Hell he would try to come in here without her permission!

Yeah. . . right.

"Don't you dare open that door!" Temari demanded, her eyes flashing with rage.

Itachi came in anyway.

"You've got to be done by now. You've been in there forever." he stated as he shut the door behind him. His crimson eyes seemed as though they were looking right through her. "You look better this way." he stepped closer.

Temari backed up against the wall. "Don't come near me! Please. . ." she held out one of her hands in a desperate, yet pointless attempt to stop him.

Before she knew it, the Uchiha was standing over her. Temari gulped as she gripped the towel slightly. He wasn't threatening. His eyes weren't roaming her body, nor were they filled with lust. He was looking. . . at her face! Not to mention, his expression was blank. She couldn't read him at all.

It would prove to be a worthy challenge, Temari decided.

"Tell me," she said, "Why is that you married me?" her face inched toward his, a smirk growing on her face.

The Uchiha's expression did not change. "You intrigue me. You fight back even when all seems hopeless. . . like now."

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Why is that? I mean. . . why is it completely hopeless for me now?"

"You've lost your memory. You know nothing. So all you're able to do is trust the strangers around you wondering if you can believe them. Yet, you're still fighting. I know that I intrigue you as well. You want to know what makes me tick, and it frustrates you when you fail trying to find out."

Wow, full of yourself, much?

"You're really cocky, you know that?" Temari sneered and backed up against the wall. Did she really marry this arrogant pig?

"Maybe so. . . but you can't deny it, can you? It's what makes you love me."

Temari's eyes widened. Damn, he was right. Giving in, she let out a sigh and looked up at him. If not for the towel being her only source of clothing, she would have wrapped her hands around his neck. "Did I really love you before I lost my memory?" she asked

Itachi smirked. "Of course. You _did_ marry me."

_Alright, let's find out what really _does _make him tick without dropping any hints_. "Prove it. Now." it was Temari's turn to smirk. What could he possibly do to prove that? There wasn't really any other way she could think of right now other than. . .

"How is that?" Itachi was curious, a rare emotion for him. Maybe she wasn't so hopeless after all.

Yes! She had baffled him. This was easier than she thought. . . the smirk grew wider, and Temari stepped closer to him. "Kiss me. If we are married the kiss should be natural and passionate instead of awkward and hesitant.

With_out_ hesitation, the Uchiha's lips pressed against hers. Whoa! If she hadn't asked him to kiss her, Temari would just think he was being forward. His movements were so natural, like he had been _waiting_ for her to ask.

His right hand slipped around her waist while the left pushed up against the small of her back. Needless to say, Temari could do nothing, because she was standing on her toes, and pushing her body forward to reach him, while awkwardly holding up the towel.

His left hand grabbed a fistful of the thin material, threatening to pull it off. This was when Temari pushed him away.

"Don't touch the towel." she hissed at him.

"I proved myself, didn't I?" Itachi insisted "Do you believe me?"

"Yeah but, we can't just. . ." Temari blushed at the mere thought

"Just what?" The Uchiha moved closer. By the smirk on his face, Temari sensed he knew exactly what she was talking about. The bastard just wanted to tease her.

"You know what I mean! Stop pretending like you don't!" she yelled at him.

"Alright, then why can't we? It's late, most of the others should be asleep. . . and I locked the door. Just for you." What surprised Temari the most was that his expression was still. . . unfathomable. She still couldn't read him!

Temari was so caught up in this that she didn't think to ask about 'the others' and Itachi put it. Why did she refuse his offer? He was her husband, right? That's what married couples did. . . most of them anyway.

She wriggled out of his grip, rushing around him, and backed away. She didn't want to be confined to the wall. "No way!" she whisper-yelled now that she knew about 'the others'. "Look, I just want to get dressed and go to bed."

At a speed Temari didn't think possible, the Uchiha was standing behind her. "We could always skip the 'getting dressed' part." he joked

"Get out!" she turned around to push him, but the Uchiha grabbed her waist.

"I don't think so. You really just expect me to leave?"

"Actually, yes, I do. A husband should respect his wife's wishes. And right now, I wish for you to get the hell out of here!" Temari retorted

Itachi was frustrated. Why wouldn't she just give in? "You have so much spunk considering the situation you're in."

"Please let me go." Temari sighed against his chest. If he pressed any harder, she'd be smothered. Not to mention he was hurting the bump on the back of her head.

"Actually, now that you've calmed, I can get straight to business. . ."

Oh, _Hell No_! He did not just say that to her! "That's it!" Temari flailed, kicked, screamed. She looked like an overgrown 3-year-old throwing a tantrum.

And amazingly, the Uchiha still had his firm grip on her. Finally, he set her on her back, almost in the same position they were in when he had given her a lesson on strangling someone–except for the fact that he didn't have his hands on her neck–not that she would remember.

Temari calmed. Somehow, this position seemed familiar to her. But that couldn't be! When in the world would she possibly lay like this?!

Oh gee, let's think on that for a second.

"Give me another chance to prove myself." Itachi requested. "But. . . in a slightly different way." To his surprise, when he removed his hands from he arms, she remained still.

"Alright, Itachi. . . One more chance." Temari whispered, her alluring tone returning from it's vacation. She hadn't talked to him like that for a while.

Needless to say. . . it turned him on.

(Cut Lemon. . . Sorry guys! Fanfiction dot net has rules. I do have it posted on another site, however. http://naruto. adultfanfiction. net/story. php?no600093256&chapter5 Please remember to remove the spaces, thank you.)

The Konoha Gang had returned to, well. . . Konoha. It was too much of a pain in the but to be separated, and without a Hyuuga, it was pointless.

"I sure hope Temari's okay. Tsunade said she sent a jounin over to Suna to make sure Gaara wasn't running off." Naruto piped up.

"That sounds more like something _you_ would do." Sakura replied, rolling her eyes. This sent into thought, however. _Then again, he loves Temari a lot. . . maybe he would be irrational enough to. . ._

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed Naruto waving a hand in front of her. "You alright there, Sakura?"

"I'm fine Naruto. I'm just gonna go home and get some rest." she smiled a bit and waved goodbye before she left. _I didn't see Shino or Ino come back. I hope they're okay._

Because of Shino's powerful beetles, and Ino's new control over plants, they had easily defeated the enemy. Unfortunately, the scrawny pair ran away before Shino could ask what they had wanted.

He looked towards Ino, who was mending a little cut on her hand. "What do you think they wanted?" he asked

She looked up at him. "If I had the slightest idea, I'd tell you, but I'm in the dark, as well, so don't look to me for answers." she snapped

"We should head back. That battle did last for quite some time." Shino suggested

"You were the one who was pausing all the time to ask questions!" Ino accused, "Do you really think they'd give you answers in the middle of a fight?"

"...You're annoying..." Shino said under his breath.

Temari stood in her room alone. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She and the Uchiha had just. . .

She let out a sigh. It was very difficult to question her own will, especially since she had lost her memory. "Why did I let him? Does this mean we really are husband and wife? Ugh, why does he have to be so unreadable! It would be so much easier if I could tell he was lying. . ."

Temari was very tired and her body ached. She was still in her bath robe, lying against the wall. She figured the Uchiha was up in his room sleeping peacefully. . .

Until she saw him standing in front of her!

"What? Itachi, how did you?" she looked toward the door and back, and as fast as he appeared, he was gone. Temari shook her head and waved her hand frantically in the place he had been standing.

It was probably just a hallucination. She chuckled at herself for being so paranoid.

"What's the matter Temari?" a malicious voice called to her. . .

"What!" she opened her eyes once more and turned her head to find Gaara half in his Shukaku form. He was using the tail to meet her eye to eye. "Don't like your little brother this way?" Gaara mocked.

"Little brother?" Temari's hand flew to her mouth to stifle a scream. An ugly, high-pitched noise escaped her throat. She whirled around to avoid looking at Gaara, only to see a little 11-year-old Kankuro in front of her, his throat crushed.

Temari remembered these illusions! And she knew exactly what caused them. . . "Mangekyou Sharingan. . ." she mumbled.

A lot of people were standing in her room, now. Gaara, a smirking Uchiha, and a dead Kankuro. She backed up against the wall behind her and sunk to the ground, covering her ears.

And Temari heard nothing.

Her eyes popped open to reveal that she had woken up from the nightmare, her memories returned. However, she was still in her bathrobe, coming to the conclusion that everything else had been real. _Everything _else.

"That bastard! I'll kill him!" she whisper-yelled. No! Why kill him now? Temari realized that would be pointless. First of all, she didn't stand a chance against him. Not to mention she'd have a bunch of S-Class criminals wanting her dead. No. . . she had the perfect idea.

Temari pulled the closet door open. She would have to deal with what was in there: The sleeveless net top, and the standard shinobi pants. They were a little loose on her, but it was the best she could do besides the Akatsuki uniform.

Well, this wasn't entirely fair. . . Temari had no idea where the Uchiha's room was. It ruined her plan. She just wanted to fool him into thinking she was the poor little soul without her memory.

Then drop the act, murder him, and get out of there before any of the other Akatsuki noticed.

_Screw it_. Temari thought. _I'm better off running away. Revenge isn't the most important thing here._

Temari wanted almost nothing more than to get home to Gaara and Kankuro. To sleep in her own bed, wear her own clothes, and most importantly, _not_ get followed around by psychopathic bastards 24/7.

Quietly, she unlocked the locks on the window, slipping out. If the Uchiha had no idea her memory had returned, he probably would not suspect she would run away.

Then again, he had caught her time after time. She never found out how he was able to do it, but it was like Itachi could be in two. . . make that _ten_ places at once. Temari shook the thought from her head.

And with that, the kunoichi dashed off into the forest and back to Suna.

**Yeah. There IS going to be a 'Book Two' incase you are wondering.**

**Book one is finished. Um. . . Book Two is probably going to be longer. And it had a prologue so that you will not be confuzzled. ; D Kiss, Kiss.**

**What it this? An EPILOGUE? How interesting:**

_A figure stood upon the rooftop, smirking at the Kunoichi. Let her run back to her desert home. For he had left a mark that would crush _Sasuke's_ dream to restore the clan._


End file.
